Against Equality: Don’t Ask to Fight Their Wars

This second Against Equality anthology gathers together pieces by contemporary radical voices critical of the mainstream gay community’s uncritical approach to Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. It features an introduction by the inimitable Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore and essays by writers— Bill Andriette, Kenyon Farrow, Larry Goldsmith, Jamal Rashad Jones, Cecilia Cissell Lucas, Erica R. Meiners, Mr. Fish, Yasmin Nair, Tamara K. Nopper, and Therese Quinn— from our digital archives on LGBT investments in militarism. This archival anthology asks why the historically left/radical anti-war critique of war does not extend to DADT and the issue of queers in the military.

Against Equality: Don’t Ask to Fight Their Wars provides hitherto unavailable set of critiques on a subject that has rarely been approached with as much candor and nuance. Defying the prescriptive logic of “gay is good” that permeates mainstream gay politics, it seeks to interrogate the place of the military in a queer imagining of the world and simultaneously challenges the mainstream left to question its signing on to the damaging militarism of contemporary gay politics. Check out the table of contents here.

Praise for the book:

“Against Equality has emerged as a pivotal voice in queer politics in a time of generalized assimilation and normalization of difference. They are sharp, direct, and honest and are unafraid to tackle the most critical issues faced by queer and trans communities in the United States. This book will stir a debate about another of the ‘pillar’ issues of the mainstream LGBT movement, which, like marriage equality, must be challenged.”
—Carlos Motta, creator of We Who Feel Differently